Like author Neradine Tisaj I like shopping, no I love shopping and I’m good at it. Unlike me, Neradine is incredibly sensible when it comes to shopping. But it wasn’t always so. In her book How to Give Up Shoppingshespeaks as a true reformed unconscious shopper, and I think I have found my people.

Many years ago I used to work in finance and the hours, workload and pressures were often unbearable. I recall one time, quite possibly at my lowest, I just bolted from the office and went out and bought a $400 lolly pink, two piece suit by a prestige lable, among many other things, all within 30 minutes. That was the sale price by the way, and I remember at the time I was feeling incredibly stressed, like my head would explode and I bought it to try and make me feel better.

Now I could rationlise that purchase any way you needed me to, and did. ‘I can wear it to the races’, I said to my bemused colleagues and ‘it will be perfect if I need to go to a wedding’ I told my strategically single, gay friends. Did either of those things happen?? No.

Last year as I was preparing to downsize I culled my wardrobe and worldly posessions pretty hard. I agonised over what to do with the as-yet-unworn lolly suit. It was so expensive, it was well made, it was a good brand… and on and on it went. Eventually, I was very firm with myself and donated the suit to my Mum and asked her to find it a good home. But I’ll just die if I see it on a bag lady in the park!!

Following Neradine’s sound advice will now be my new mantra, you can borrow it too if you like so that you don’t buy a lolly-pink-never-to-be-worn suit!

– shopping per se is not bad, it’s over-shopping and getting in to debt that is
– gather your receipts and work out what you spend money on and how you are feeling when you do. Build awareness of your weak moments
– don’t shop when everyone else is, the frenetic energy is very contagious
– don’t go to the mall because you have nothing else to do, find a new hobby instead
– write a list of 20 things that you enoy doing, keep it in your wallet and refer to it when you’re stressed, bored, sad or feel like spending money you don’t have!